JJ Abrams on the Star Wars: Episode VII Writer Swap

ScreenSpy is fresh off a conference call with JJ Abrams, where the topic of discussion is supposed to be FOX’s ambitious new scifi Ro-Bromance Almost Human.

Of course, that didn’t stop one enterprising journalist from asking about the recent decision by Abrams to switch out screenwriter Michael Arndt in favor of Larry Kasdan.

Although reluctant to be drawn on the topic (“I don’t think there was any changes in the scriptwriting on Almost Human,” he noted playfully. “You know Almost Human? FOX show? Hour long drama?”) Abrams did say the following:

“Working with Michael was a wonderful experience and I couldn’t be a bigger fan of his or adore him more, He’s a wonderful guy and was incredibly helpful in the process. Working with Larry Kasdan, especially on a Star Wars movie is sort of unbeatable. It became clear that given the time frame and given the process and the way the thing was going that working with Larry in this way was going to get us where we need to be and when we needed to be. That doesn’t preclude working with Michael again. I couldn’t say enough good things about him. He’s obviously one of the smartest guys and one of the best writers around.”

It seems that given the relatively short time frame involved in the Star Wars project (just over a year and a half) Abrams hired the writer he imagined could get the job done in the time frame allotted.

Mystery solved?

Stay tuned for our full interview with both JJ Abrams and JH Wyman on FOX’s Almost Human.